Austin Box (He/Him/His)

Whether you are questioning your sexual or gender identity or have a family member who is, it can be helpful to talk to an affirming and accepting counselor. You will have a safe space to explore your questions or thoughts about 2SLGBTQ+ topics whether your concerns directly relate to these topics or beyond.

In stressful times when a person becomes stuck in their emotions and unable to express them, it's common for depression to settle in. Like a wall blocking your way, it becomes harder to see the helpful aspects of life when depressed. Noticing the patterns that lead to you becoming stuck and learning how to express your emotions can help to remove that wall brick by brick.

Stress can be good. With too much, it becomes overwhelming. Finding a helpful balance between stressing your abilities and challenging them can lead to growth. Without knowing your natural limits or giving yourself enough time to rest and recover, stress can run rampant in your life. We can talk and learn about these areas in your life and find that helpful balance.

As a form of CBT, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) helps people come to accept the difficult and sometimes opposing parts of life. DBT focuses on improving a person's ability to manage stress in their life through coping skills, learning how to identify and express their emotions, improving their relationships with others, and focusing on the present moment.

With empathy, acceptance, non-judgment, and curiosity, people can change and grow into the person who they want to be. A person-centered approach to counseling believes the client is the expert of themselves and the counselor is the expert who can help others explore what they know about themselves.

Trauma changes people. It can influence their view of the world and impact their ability to make decisions, especially in times of stress or reminders of the trauma itself. Trauma counseling helps to identify the various ways trauma affects you, learning how to cope and growing beyond a haunted past.

Relational Cultural Therapy uses the terms of connection and disconnection to explore the impact of relationships of all types on the developmental and wellbeing of people. These are relationships with yourself, your family, your community, your state, your country, your unique culture, and the overall culture surrounding you. Over time, all of these shape and influence how you connect (attach/approach) or disconnect (separate/withdraw) with yourself, others, and the world.

Emotions play a large role in thoughts, actions, and decisions. Emotions can be described as "a unique language in which the brain speaks through the body." Learning the unique language of emotions is influenced by your upbringing and how your culture views emotions and whether they're acceptable to reveal outwardly or concealed inwardly. It does take time to build knowledge & understanding of your emotions, as well as trust with your therapist to explore the meaning & messages of feelings.